On the final weekend of qualifying, in Iceland – more than 9,000 miles away from his native country – Taufatofua did just enough to clinch a berth in PyeongChang. He spoke to the Olympic Channel after the decisive race:

And with one last shot at qualification, he came through. “This was my last race possible, and we did it,” he confirmed in an interview with the Olympic Channel. “This is a miracle.”

Indeed it is a miracle. Taufatofua finished 153rd out of 156 in his first race, at the 2017 World Championships. But he kept improving, and got in just under the wire.

“People don’t see the hard work that goes behind,” he said, referencing the qualifying journey, which took him to places like Armenia and Colombia. “They just see the shiny guy that walks with the flag.”

Cross-country skiing competition begins on Saturday, Feb. 10 in PyeongChang, the same day as the Opening Ceremony. There are separate cross-country events – all of them medal events – on 10 different days throughout the Games. It’s unclear when exactly Taufatofua will race.

It’s also unclear what his outfit will be at the Opening Ceremony in South Korea. He wouldn’t divulge any details on Saturday. But we can probably put forward a pretty good guess.